The man accused of abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl for three months in Pretoria, South Africa has been identified as a Nigerian national. The 37-year-old man, who cannot be named until he pleads to charges of kidnapping, rape and contravening sections 4, 7 and 5 of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, was met with insults and slurs from women’s organisations when he entered the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, December 13th, for his bail application.
He walked into the noisy courtroom to find out that his legal representative withdrew as he had not been paid. The women hurled insults at him as he was called to the dock, causing the magistrate to warn them that he would clear the public gallery if they could not behave themselves.
"He must rot in jail," a woman screamed as he was led back to the holding cells.
"He must rot in jail," a woman screamed as he was led back to the holding cells.
The suspect was arrested two weeks ago for abducting the girl and keeping her in his Sunnyside flat for two months. Police said the man repeatedly raped her before her escape. It is also alleged that he was trying to groom her for prostitution.
During his first court appearance last week, the man applied for bail, which was postponed for further investigation. On Tuesday his attorney withdrew from representing him, and he applied for legal aid. This caused another postponement in the case, to allow the Legal Aid lawyer to take over the matter.
The girl, who is in Grade 7, was reported missing by her family in early September. When she was found on December 1, she said she had left her Mamelodi home to meet friends at a nearby park outside Silverton.She had encountered an unknown girl along the way, who then led her to the Sunnyside flats where the accused lives.
It is alleged that when the girl woke up the following morning she found the accused sitting on the bed and the unknown girl had disappeared. She said she was unable to escape until an afternoon two weeks ago, after which she led the police to the flat.
ANC Women's League Tshwane regional secretary Gogo Ndlovana was one of the women who attended the proceedings on Tuesday in support of the girl. She indicated that the organisation would make an application to become friends of the court. They will attend the proceedings until the matter is finalised.
"As the Women's League we have met the family, and in our discussions we agreed that the child should remain in a place of safety. We will send social workers to assess the child," Ndlovana said.The girl's uncle refused to speak to the media, but indicated he would be available at the next court appearance.
Ndlovana indicated that due to the girl having missed her exams, they were trying to negotiate with the school and the Education Department to assess her on the work she had done through the year.
However, they were experiencing difficulties as the academic year had come to an end. She also said they wanted to apply for permission to march to the block of flats where the accused is said to live.
"We are not xenophobic, but we want to raise the matter that at the very same flat where this guy is living, there are things happening there. It is our responsibility as women to hold the march to sensitise the government with regard to the security around that particular area," Ndlovana said.The case was postponed to December 19 for a formal bail application.
Source: Citizen SA
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